SBI Card has launched an exclusive credit card for doctors in partnership with the Indian Medical Association. The card includes a new feature, providing professional indemnity insurance cover of `10 lakh to protect doctors against professional risks and liabilities. As doctors often face unforeseen events that give rise to risk of claims from patients or related parties, the card offers cover for legal costs, including out-of-court settlements and court awards. Commenting on the product, Hardayal Prasad, MD and CEO of SBI Card, said, "SBI Card integrates industry-first features such as professional indemnity insurance cover and accelerated 5x rewards on medical supply purchase for the benefit of doctors running private clinics. Also, doctors incur 50 per cent higher international spends than regular customers and the card has been tailored to offer accelerated rewards on travel bookings and international spends."

Insurance Cover For Overseas Treatment

New India Assurance, the biggest public sector general insurance company, has come up with a new policy called New India Global Mediclaim Policy that covers the cost of being treated in overseas hospitals. Treatments covered under this policy include heart surgery, cancer therapy, neurosurgery, organ transplant and bone marrow transplant. Anyone with a domestic health insurance cover of `8 lakh and above from any insurance company is eligible for the new policy. The buyer can choose between a $500,000 cover for treatment in Asia or a $1 million health cover for overseas treatment anywhere in the world. However, there is a lifetime limit of $2 million. It enables the insured to get a second opinion from one of the world-leading medical centres, ensures cashless treatment and also covers travel cost up to $3,000 per person besides paying the travel cost of a companion.

Videocon Exits JV With Liberty Mutual Insurance

Videocon Industries has sold its entire stake of 51.32 per cent in Liberty Videocon General Insurance, a joint venture held with Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Videocon sold 26 per cent stake to Diamond Dealtrade and another 25.32 per cent to Enam Securities. The company has taken all necessary regulatory approvals for the deal. Although the Indian partner has been replaced by two new Indian companies, the foreign partner will continue to run the business.

Rs 10,560 Cr

The amount that the foreign portfolio investors put into the equity market in March 2018 (data given until March 27). The surge is largely driven by expectations of a rebound in corporate earnings and cooling of global oil prices. But the story is just the opposite in the debt market, as around Rs 9,693 crore was liquidated during this period as per CSDL data. The equity market surge came after a significant exodus in February when FPIs became net sellers and sold off shares worth `11,037. The withdrawal in the debt market is largely due to a rise in interest rates, likelihood of rupee depreciation due to crude oil prices and fiscal deficit.

Aadhaar Linking On Hold

Supreme Court of India has indefinitely extended the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, insurance policies, passports, mobile phones and other services. However, the five-member Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, refused to extend the deadline for government welfare schemes. The apex court took the decision as it is currently hearing a case on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and no decision is likely to be taken before the March 31 deadline expires.

Gratuity Limit Upped For Private Sector Employees

Parliament has recently passed the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which ups the gratuity limit of private sector employees and brings it on a par with their counterparts in the public sector. The current upper ceiling on gratuity amount under the Act is `10 lakh, which has been increased to `20 lakh, and the receivable is tax-free. Earlier, Provisions for central government employees under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, had an upper limit of `10 lakh but the amount was doubled by the 7th Central Pay Commission.